The invention relates to a method and a device for coating tubular food casings, especially intestines, with flavoring substances in particle form, especially spices, wherein the tubular casing is wetted on the inside with adhesive and the desired flavoring substances are deposited on the formed adhesive layer.
Tubular sausage casings, which are coated on the inside with spice particles, have been proposed in German published patent application DE 195 00 470. That document starts with a shined sausage casing which, after being pulled into the cylindrical shape, is first wetted on the inside with a liquid adhesive. Then the sausage casing slides along an inner coating ring, which distributes the adhesive uniformly and at the desired thickness. In further processing, compressed air and spices are blown radially via a central feed tube against the inside surface of the sausage casing, where it is held by the deposited adhesive layer. Then, the sausage casing must be dried.
To improve the adhesion of the spices, there can be provided at the end of the feed tube a rotating centrifugal disk, which throws the spice against the inside of the sausage casing under the influence of an additional centrifugal force.
In practice, however, this system has not proven effective, because a uniform flavoring substance coating with sufficient thickness could not be continuously guaranteed.
Instead, it is still typical to form tubular casings, which are to be coated with spices, first in the form of flat foils and to coat these foils. Then the coated flat foil is formed into the tubular shape, wherein it is brought through fitted shaping shoulders into a cylindrical shape and then closed by seams or adhesives along its adjacent or overlapping longitudinal edges.
This process is intensive in terms of time and energy, because the adhesive must be deposited on the foil in a moist, liquid state with the result that the foil must be subjected to an intensive drying process after the deposition of the flavoring substances. The flat foil coated with adhesive and spices is formed into the tubular shape only after the drying and then closed and finished by seams, adhesives, or fusion.
However, these processing steps would be impossible in the moist state of the foil both due to hygienic and also processing technology reasons.